Strengths: The Cell Block-C products include stablized Vitamin C; some well-formulated moisturizers; decent scrub products; excellent retinol products; some good cleansers plus an exceptional makeup remover; Lip Apeel; very good lip balm with sunscreen; some great foundations (including one with full coverage); very good powder blush and eyeshadow trios; the liquid eyeliner and lip gloss are excellent; some innovative products that make this line deserve a second look.

Weaknesses: Most of the body-care products contain irritating ingredients, as do several others throughout the line; the jar packaging is really disappointing; most of the toners contain problematic ingredients that can hurt skin; almost all of the men's products are full of irritants; limited options for sunscreens, although what's available provides sufficient UVA protection; the Skinlogics Sensitive skin-care line contains ingredients that are problematic for those with sensitive skin; mostly problematic concealers; limited to poor foundation, concealer, and powder shades for women of color.

Texas-based BeautiControl has been around for nearly three decades and has maintained a consistent focus on skin care. Most recently they have shaped their line around the concept of creating your own in-home spa, which the company uses to entice women to host BeautiControl parties for their friends and family. Whether you find out about (or end up purchasing) these products by attending a BeautiControl party or you happen across their Web site, there are some compelling reasons to consider several BeautiControl products. Let's start with the positives.

The best face forward side of BeautiControl is that their price point is not over the top, and mostly reasonable; plus several of their products are exceptional. We also think their overall approach to taking care of skin is well-intentioned. Without question, the ingredients in their best products demonstrate they're keeping up with the state-of-the-art. If they stopped including problematic ingredients and discontinued the poorly formulated products this line would be a much stronger option for consumers looking to take excellent care of their skin while remaining brand-loyal.

BeautiControl's focus on launching more and more miracle products with incredibly misleading claims might help them sell more products, but it doesn't always make for good skin care. And how come they have so few facial moisturizers with sunscreen? Protecting skin from sunlight indisputably keeps it looking younger, firmer, smoother, and even-toned far longer than anything else you can do for skin.

BeautiControl's makeup collection has been streamlined a bit, and that's good news. The foundation colors are divided into warm, cool, and neutral tones though the warm tones (those that begin with the letter Y) are more neutral than warm, which is good news. The cool shades (those that begin with the letter P) are the least impressive. Throughout the color line are some happy surprises, such as the improved powder blush and eyeshadow trios but also some really bland products such as the eye pencil and some gimmicky primer-type products. You'll find some great products whether you want to shop BeautiControl's color line piecemeal or assemble a complete makeup wardrobe, and the prices are reasonable.

Note: We would like to acknowledge and extol how exceptionally helpful the staff at BeautiControl's main office has been in allowing my team and me to compile the information necessary to complete this review. Very few cosmetics companies extend such a high level of service and reliable information to us, and we truly appreciate it.

585630-IIS2 v1.0.0.379 3/31/2015 5:23:49 PM

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